Wind? - NOT amateur radio

This tree was planted in the millennium along with many others. I think it was rotten and the wind got it. 

10m WSPR QRP TX

Yesterday was very successful with my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon being widely spotted across Europe. It is on again now (0821z). No spots yet.

UPDATE 1310z:  Well it helps to remember to turn the PA on!! For the first 30 minutes I forgot. Doh. Mind you, still no spots.  

UPDATE 1954z:  Apart from the 2 stations spotting me multiple times, presumably by F2, no others spotting me. No Es apparent here today.

Es season

 In the coming months we will be in the Es season in the northern hemisphere. This brings lots of short skip DX on bands like 10m, 6m and 4m. Occasionally it even reaches 2m although this is rare. Sometimes we get very long distances via the E layer, but I suspect many of these openings are some kind of chordal E propagation. Enjoy it whilst it lasts! 

8m experiment (Friday)

With my QRP, I am running out of stations with whom I can realistically exchange reports. 

My problem is I do not know who else, without a TX permit, might be looking for me. There is an outside chance that I could be spotted in the USA, but I think it is unlikely that I will be spotted in South Africa. 

I remain totally baffled by OFCOM and the RSGB who seem dead against even a very tiny allocation of an amateur band at 8m, by NoV, digital only, when this could really help propagation research and self training!! I find their OBSTRUCTIVE attitude unbelievable. Contact OFCOM and the RSGB to persuade them they are so WRONG!! Even 5 kHz would be useful, say at 40.680 USB dial. Having to buy a T&I licence seems so wrong and totally the opposite of "self training".

UPDATE 0810z:   8m TX turned on 40.680 MHz USB dial at 0805z. FT8 first period TX.

UPDATE 1420z:  There are lots of stations monitoring on 8m. Sadly, nobody has spotted me today and I have spotted nobody on RX.

Grandson's art - NOT amateur radio

One of our grandchildren is a very talented artist. He has just won a scholarship for art. This is one of his latest paintings. He is 13 years old. 

Sunspots - Friday May 13th 2022

Solar flux is 133 and the SSN 112.  A=8 and K=1.

8m experiment (Thursday)

At 0830z I propose to go on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX (TXing in the first period).

UPDATE 1221z:  EI9KP (649km) has spotted me and I have spotted him. 

UPDATE 1315z:   QRT on RX and TX whilst rig cools Back on at 1345z on 40.680 MHz FT8 TX (first period).

10m WSPR QRP TX (Thursday)

 I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW W5OLF beacon. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 1521z:  15 unique spots of me today, mostly Es.

UPDATE 1905z: 16 unique stations have spotted me today. The Es season is definitely here.

There are far more people monitoring 10m WSPR than I was expecting. Great.

Shady spot - NOT amateur radio

This snale seems to have the right idea: just find a shady spot. 

Oscar 100 (lack of) activity

Every few weeks I take a look at activity on the narrow-band transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. I last looked at 1230z on a Wednesday. It has never been quieter! When I looked there was nobody at all active! Now, I may have just caught this at a bad time.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Xiegu X6100 HF/50 MHz transceiver

In this month's Practical Wireless is a review of the Chinese Xiegu X6100 transceiver. Like many things made in China, quality still seems to be a bit "hit and miss". They report an issue with the auto-ATU that is not fixed with the latest firmware.  What seems clear is these are low cost.

My concern is what happens if it goes wrong? Who will fix it? Is the guarantee really worth it? Given time, I am sure the major Japanese manufacturers like Yaesu, ICOM and Kenwood will feel a chill, with more, better quality, and far lower cost offerings starting to appear from China and other countries. 

I am quite surprised that one (or more) of the major Japanese manufacturers is still there if I am honest. It all hinges on volumes and markets. I would expect to see items that could sell in high volumes worldwide coming from China rather than niche products. Over time, quality will shoot up.

At the moment I still feel nervous about buying Chinese amateur radio products. But...

They are coming......

Sunspots - Thursday May 12th 2022

Solar flux is 133 and the SSN 84.  A=6 and K=2. 

FT8 activity contest on 70cm

This evening is the FT8 activity contest on 70cms. Already at 1730z, several Gs are getting ready.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?contest=70cmsgmac .

In all, 37 stations spotted on a 2m big-wheel omni antenna!!

70cm activity contest (UKAC)

Last evening I took part (briefly) in the 70cm activity contest organised by the RSGB. As I have no antennas for 70cm horizontal I went on for about 50 minutes with 10W to my 2m big-wheel omni. 

3 QSOs were made before I stopped because of my poor voice with the best being G4CLA (105km).

10m WSPR QRP TX (Wednesday)

 At the moment, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1740z:  I think there is some Es around today. 4 unique stations have spotted me.

Endings - NOT amateur radio

 All my life I have not been good at endings. At this stage in life, I am feeling that lots of things we have just taken for granted are coming to their ends. 

At the end of next month I hope to travel to Devon, where I come from,  to see my brother who is 77. How long will he and his wife be there in good health? My wife and I are ageing. What happens if one of us dies? Lots of our relatives, friends and neighbours are now older. I can no longer drive a long way.

It seems we have no choice but to accept that everything passes. Life as we know it is an illusion of stability. Everything changes. I guess we have no choice but to accept this.

Spring sprung - NOT amateur radio

This was me in the cow parsley yesterday on our walk.  The cow parsley looks great at the moment. 

In a few weeks it will be past its best.

8m experiment (Wednesday)

The last few days have been poor here with no Es evident here and no spots on RX or TX. Let us hope today is better! 

UPDATE 0803z:   On 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 first TX at 0757z.  Ever hopeful!

UPDATE 1120z:   EI9KP (649km) in the west of Eire has again spotted me.

UPDATE 1742z:   No further spots given or received today. Better than the last few days, but still pretty poor.  Now QSYed to 70cm FT8 RX.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 11th 2022

Solar flux is 116 and the SSN 62  A=3 and K=1. 

Hebrides - NOT amateur radio

One of my fellow radio amateurs is doing a cycling/camping tour of the Outer Hebrides. This is one of his Facebook photos. 

National Mills Weekend - NOT amateur radio

Last weekend was National Mills Weekend. Our local museum and windmill across the road had free entry and had 150-200 visitors. It was a good, happy, occasion as the photo shows. 

Our fully restored windmill is over 200 years old.

The joy of QRP

In our hobby we all have different interests, and that is only right: it would be a sad world if we were all the same. Some like ATV, others chasing DX, others just talking with old friends on 80m. I cannot say how you get fun. Neither would it be correct.

My own "thing" is QRP (low power). Now, I freely admit that at times more ERP helps. However, especially on bands like 10m in the better solar years, the world can be worked with low power and simple antennas. This is even more true with modern modes like FT8.

Perhaps my G3XBM website may give you some ideas. Whatever, the next few years could be the time to give QRP a go. You might be surprised.

10m WSPR QRP TX

 Yet again (at 0850z) I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from my W5OLF beacon. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1115z:   Still no spots of me today.

UPDATE 1845z:   Just local G4WSZ and the 2 Canary Is stations today. These latter 2 look like F2. Again, no Es here today.

Colourful border - NOT amateur radio

We pass this colourful border on one of our walks around the village. 

8m experiment (Tuesday)

Yesterday was dire with no stations spotted on RX and nobody spotting me on FT8 TX on 8m. Even 10m had no Es here. Hopefully today will be better. Well it can't be worse!!

Currently on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX. 

UPDATE 0951z:   No spots yet on 8m TX or RX.

UPDATE 1025z:  Still no spots on 8m FT8 TX or RX today. Apart from the remote chance of contacting some of the USA experimenters by chordal hop Es this summer, I think I have exchanged reports (won't say QSO!!) with all the stations I am likely to. The ZS stations are unlikely to spot me with my low ERP, even though I have spotted ZS6WAB on 8m FT8. I suspect the latter was TEP and Es together, as we are a bit too far north for pure TEP.

UPDATE 1855z:   No Es today, in fact no spots again on TX  or RX.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 10th 2022

Solar flux is 117 and the SSN 71.  A=8 and K=0.

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

For me, the return of the swifts from Africa is important. Today I saw several overhead. All is well. Swifts have been doing this long before I was born and hopefully long after I have gone. 

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/ .

OFCOM consultations

OFCOM is consulting on Short-Range Devices and 26 GHz and 40 GHz uses. See the OFCOM website for details.

How times change!

When I was first licenced in the late 1960s, I wanted a Codar AT5 transmitter.  At the time it was the state of the art.  This was a valved 12W AM/CW transmitter. I never had one. 

I had the companion T28 RX, which was rubbish. I think the pair were really meant for mobile use, as most mobile in those days was on 160m AM. My T28 was a university prize for a VLF project on whistlers. It ended up as a 4-6 MHz IF for a VHF converter. I recall hearing USA stations on 2m via Oscar 6 and Oscar 7.

I also had an Eddystone EC10 receiver. Apart from the mechanical construction, this too was rubbish.

We have come a long way since those days. Today, you can buy a multi-mode transceiver with internal batteries covering 160m -70cm in a smaller size than the AT5!   In fact, this has been available for more than 20 years!

Farm shop - NOT amateur radio

This is the view from a local farm shop. We eat at the café there occasionally. 

8m experiment (Monday)

All quiet today so far, with no spots given or received. 

UPDATE 2010:  A quiet day. No spots given or received.  Now QRT.

10m WSPR TX beacon (Monday)

All seems pretty quiet so far with just multiple spots of me by TA4/G8SCU (3010km). I think this is single hop F2 rather than Es. 

UPDATE 2014z:  3 unique stations spotting me (2 in the Canaries and 1 in Turkey). 

UPDATE 2030z:   The Canary Is stations are still spotting me! I wonder what time this will end?

Feeding by hand NOT amateur radio

This was me feeding pheasants by hand some years ago. 

Sunspots - Monday May 9th 2022

 Solar flux is 119 and the SSN 89.  A=6 and K=3.

Transatlantic 2m beacon stopped

EI2DKH, the Irish transatlantic 2m beacon is off air according to the EI7GL blog. This is partly due to the site and cost of electricity as well as no reports in 7 years. I have recommended the use of FT8 if the beacon is re-sited. This works with fleeting signals weaker than CW.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/ .

Simple SSB

Steve G1KQH just pointed me to this inspiring video. Thinking about simple, low cost SSB rigs for 10m, there must be some great ideas here!

6m good

Better equipped 6m stations are working some remarkable distances.  There have been openings from Europe to South Africa and South America and reports of even further contacts.  Although these  could involve F2, the N-S QSOs are probably a combination of Es and TEP.

They don't call 6m (50MHz) the "magic band" without reason. With the right combination of propagation almost anything seems possible. Even with a very simple vertical antenna and 1W I have worked the USA on 6m QRP CW.

FT8 is an ideal mode as it is widely monitored on 50.313 MHz and works with fleeting signals much weaker than CW.

UPDATE 1948z:  6m opened to the USA this afternoon. 

10m WSPR (Sunday)

My 500mW 10m TX WSPR beacon was turned on at 0830z. Nobody has spotted me yet.

UPDATE 1155z:  Still no spots of me today. 13 unique spots on 10m WSPR of my QRP in the last day mostly by Es.

UPDATE 1452z:  Plenty of spots from the Canary Is now.

UPDATE 1850z: 3 unique stations spotting me. It seems the Canary Is stations nearly always spot me if they are on.

Special stations? National Mills Weekend

This weekend is National Mills Weekend in the UK. Many mills in the UK will have special event stations as part of this event. Watch out for special UK stations and QSLs from UK stations operating at mills. Our local museum an windmill have free entry. The photo shows the windmill next door.

See https://burwellmuseum.org.uk/

8m experiment (Sunday)

The last couple of days have been quite good on 8m with new stations spotted and an exchange of reports with a station in Slovenia. Later this morning I will be on FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. 

UPDATE 0832z:  FT8 TX (40.680 first) turned on at 0829z.

UPDATE 1125z:  Just EI9KP (649km) spotted on 8m FT8 RX today. No spots of me.

South Devon - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows where I come from in South Devon. It is very beautiful. 

Sunspots - Sunday May 8th 2022

 Solar flux is 118 and the SSN 66.  A=3 and K=2. 

Shelley tea service - NOT amateur radio

 

My mother-in-law bought this bone China tea service before her wedding in 1937. There are more cups and saucers.

Free PDF book progress

Well, I think most of the text is now done. I have to reorder the pages and add photos and schematics. At the moment, it is still on target for the end of May, but I make no promises!

As I have said before, this will be a free PDF book, so anyone can have a copy. All I want to do is share my ideas and fun. If you want to print it out, that is your choice. 

It will be linked from this blog and (I hope!) most major radio magazines. At least I shall send them the link. Whether or not it is used is outside of my control!

As I find mistakes or things to add, I shall create newer versions with probably the same link. This way, the link should always point to the latest version. There are bound to be mistakes or omissions. At least, this way I can readily change or add things.

DSB v. SSB

Now, I am very happy to be told I am wrong, but I think DSB rigs can be received on other DSB receivers, but it is much more tricky than receiving DSB on an SSB receiver. I have no experience of this, but a comment on a post yesterday has me thinking. The comment was made by Ken G4APB. Thanks Ken.

Clearly a simple SSB 10m transceiver (if very low cost, simple and easily copied) would be much preferable to a DSB transceiver, but I am unsure of the relative costs.

If you have experience, please let me know. 

Clearly, if 2 DSB transceivers can not (easily) communicate, maybe a simple 10m DSB transceiver is not as ideal as a club project, even though most QSOs would be with SSB stations.

I wonder how inexpensive a 10m SSB transceiver can be made as a simple kit?

10m WSPR QRP TX

 On 10m WSPR TX I am using my 500mW beacon. So far (at 1017z) I have been spotted by nobody! 

UPDATE 1050z:  One spot from Italy suggests there is Es about.

8m experiment (Saturday)

 After my best day yet yesterday, I am again on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1012z:   EI4GNB (445km) spotted strongly on FT8, but no spots of me.

UPDATE 1630z:  4 stations spotted here today on 8m FT8 RX with the furthermost ZS6WAB (8931km). Today has been surprisingly good. The ZS was probably a combination of TEP and Es. There are a couple of newly active 8m stations near Preston that I hope to copy.

UPDATE 2047z:  Actually 5 unique stations were spotted today. GR9B near Preston was spotted on FT8 working ZS6WN, but for some reason this did not appear on PSKreporter. At -21dB S/N he was not strong so this might have been Es backscatter or tropo. Now QRT.

How the other half lives - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows a garden in Thurlestone, Devon, UK a few years ago. 

"just popping down for a round of golf"

No, this is NOT mine!

Sunspots - Saturday May 7th 2022

 Solar flux is 119 and the SSN 64.  A=5 and K=1. 

10m sideband

Before my stroke in 2013, I had an idea for a very simple DSB transceiver for 10m. 

This was never competed, but with 10m looking good again, now is an ideal time. With just a few watts Europe should be easy and you will work DX. Don't forget antennas are small and simple and CB verticals work well.

What I envisioned was a very simple, easily copied, DSB transceiver on a single, small, PCB. These days a simple phasing SSB rig may be possible with a synthesised VFO. This would be better, but the design goals, were simple, low cost and easy. 

This would make a neat club project next winter. Imagine if all builders had a simple sideband transceiver for 10m that they built! I should be more than happy for someone to design this and do a PCB. No design rights, simple...

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-simple-sideband .